Denial and Differences
by Aku No Kokoro
Summary: Two Yordles who are, for the most part alone in the world. Except that they have each other.
1. The Gist of It

Lulu woke up with Pix tugging at her hand to lift her from slumber. After a yawn and a stretch, she popped on her "Thinking Cap" and flew out the door, leaving a magical trail of daisies in her wake. Pix in tow, and the two set off to have some sort of adventure. The League was an interesting place. Almost as fantastic as her. She'd only been here for roughly under two weeks, and the Sorceress and her companion had seen more than enough things to match her entropy. There was a man on fire, a talking armadillo, a prince, and a vampire. A talking bear, a boy on a yeti, and a scantily clad woman in a tornado. There was also a magical gambler and a man who tried to kill him. Things that shouldn't exist, simply did here and for a moment, it felt like Lulu could finally fit in somewhere. But besides her faithful friend, Lulu could find no other here. Other Yordles were friendly, yes, but even they, and every other champion found her either annoying or off putting after introductions.

Veigar woke up with a scowl and a grumble. He brought furry hand to knead the slumber from his face, and growled once more. The concept of another day was annoying, so he threw on his coat and hat with no real haste. After pulling up the collar of his mantle and fixing the brim of his hat to hide his face, he then fastened on his asymmetrical metal gauntlets, opening and closing each hand to test the bones. Satisfied enough, he shuffled out the door of his room, and shut it behind him. He would go for a walk he supposed, to think of new ways to bring the world to its knees, to gain more power, to observe his enemies. But perhaps he mostly didn't want to stay confined to his room, where the eerie silence reminded him of a cold damp cell.

Lulu zipped across the Institute, once again trying to find a friend or two. She flew around a great stone fountain, which served no real use other than being an aesthetic central hub. The the more serious champions moved hastily from point A to point B, the less social all found their own little corner to mope in, and the more eccentric were out causing havoc in some way or another. And then there would be those who didn't fit in those in any of those categories. In this case, it was a little woman, older than her size would tell and while she was usually nice enough, there was nothing to smile about now, so she simply set her mouth on a firm line as she inspected her rocket gun. She smelled Lulu before she heard her, by the scent lilacs, but enchanced by a strange kind of magic. But boy did she hear her.

"HI THERE!" yelled the energetic mage in greeting, causing the other Yordle to stumble in her actions.

"H-hello." She returned. And after recovering "Hey, you're one of the newbies, right? I'm Tristana." She said invitingly. Indeed, Trist did remember her first few weeks in the League. Awkward as heck, and it was only thanks to Teemo (Though she could do without his constant advances) that she finally settled in. So she returned the favor to anyone else needed it.

"So what's your name?"

Lulu pleaded with herself "_Oh please don't mess this up_"

"Woah! I bet you'd have an adorable giggle!"

"What?" Honestly, what? How does someone even respond to that? "Thanks, I guess." But the mood already became uncomfortable. Nothing that Tristana could say would salvage it, so neither said a thing until

"Listen, it was nice meeting you, but I've got somewhere to go. See you later."

And Lulu and Pix were left by themselves once again, having scared off another one. The two watched the champion walk away.  
>"Oh flutterballs." She muttered sadly to herself.<br>Oh well, all they could do was keep looking.

Somewhere along their wanderings, the two found their way on the training grounds, where a a swarm of spiders wrapped a target in webbing, and a girl bent the light around her. But the most attention grabbing thing was probably the explosions to the south, where some sort of Yordle was turning dummy after dummy to dust. Dark meteors fell out of the sky and smashed into the ground in front of him, and in between violet orbs flew from his staff, exploding on impact, destroying any terrain caught in the impact. Intriguing, this one, because unlike any other Yordle that existed, he had a repelling air about him. Or her? It was hard to tell, but always the curious one, Lulu flew low to meet him.

"Hello!" she sang. And it startled the hell out of him. But when he did turn around, he snapped a

"What do you want?!" in response. And though the Sorceress was taken off guard by this, she smiled nonetheless with innate friendliness.

"I'm Lulu! And this is my friend Pix" She gestured to the fairy in question, who twirled in the air for theatrics. "And who are you?" She asked with a gratingly sweet voice. And not missing for a second to scream his own name, he yelled back

"I am VEIGAR!" he throws his arms in the air in a tantrum. "Master of Evil" And this amused him so much that he started cackling to himself. He forgot that someone else was even there, leading him to be startled once again as she burst into his little world with a:

"Wow!" She called out, impressed by his energy. He certainly was a funny one.  
>"And I'm-" She paused, trying to think of a catchy title for herself. Pix whispered something into her ear.<p>

"The Fae S-"

"Unwanted!" He butt in. "Get out!"

The words had shocked her into silence. If Lulu had ever analyzed herself, she might have known that this fact was a sore spot for her. Had Veigar have known, he might have never said it. But unfortunately, neither of them did. What Lulu did know, (but not why) was that the insult caused bitter tears to build behind her eyes.

The two stared in silence, one fuming, and other biting their lip. The former huffed off, unaware of the damage he caused. Only when she was certain he was gone, did Lulu let a small sob escape. Pix immediately came to her side and patted her cheek.

"There there." he said. "Let's try again with some other people."

And eventually she did smile again. But she decided that there was something intriguing about this Veigar. Probably the oddest Yordle she had ever met (If she knew to include herself). Could it his uniqueness? An evil Yordle? Or maybe his very own entropy? She would have to try again with him later.

For the next few days, they had similar encounters, but with less crying. Honestly, the more he talked, the more she didn't mind the things he said. Only the first comment really stung, but everything else he said was actually pretty weak. He in turn grew used to her. Often ignoring her made her more annoying, as she tended to pester more then to get an answer. But if he were to oblige her and respond once and a while, she would shut up, and if she didn't, she'd speak more calmly. She asked him questions about a lot of things, that he either answered or ignored without much thought. Unless she asked about his past. She meant no harm, he could tell, she was just being curious (annoying), but during those times he still sewed his mouth shut until she changed the topic. He still had no idea who this "Pix" was, or why she kept talking to thin air. But oh well, probably the side effects of being a nut, he supposed.

The only really interesting encounter between the two, was right after Veigar won a match. Summoner's Rift, was put simply, hot, and the heavy spiked gear he wore definitely did not help matters. So the first thing he did was trudge back to his room, threw his robe into the hamper, and climb into the shower. As the water hit him, Veigar mused that the summoners must have been lazy. Everything in the Institute of War, including the plumbing and maintenance, even the act of transporting a few meters was all done by magic. All for their ease. On one hand, the slothery disgusted him, but on the other, he didn't mind the privileges. By now his gear should be clean.

So he stepped out into his bed chambers to see a purple furred girl adorning stripes sitting on his mattress. Kicking her legs off the edge and grinning. She waved.

"Hello!" she chirped!

But Veigar was still nude, and thus flustered, and thus angry.

"YOU!?" He made a mad dash for his staff and pointed it at her, fully prepare to reduce her to dash in blind rage. "What are YOU doing here?!" And he readied a bolt of magic to melt her where she stood, but to his surprise, she ran straight towards him and pinned his arms to the side.

"Woah, don't!" She shouted forcing him into a hug, not at all minding that he didn't have a shred of clothes on. Maybe she didn't even know. He paused then, not knowing what to do. He didn't have a spell that wouldn't kill both of them, so he tried to pry her off, but-  
>No good, her grip was too tight, and she was definitely not letting go.<p>

"Unhand me, you simpleton!" He barked at her, but she only gripped tighter in response.

It really was odd, for someone to touch him like this. Not when dark magics had mixed into his fur, changing it into a tainted shade of black. Not when his eyes gave off yellow glow, which was most definitely not a normal trait in most species, but here she was. And for what reason? Never the less, the touch of another was something he had gone without for years. He had given some before, back when he was still a friendly Yordle with friendly friends. But those days were long gone. He rotted in a cell without that kind of contact for years, and went on for years longer after that on his quest for power. The white marks of scars from the Noxian prison littered his body though, in haphazard patterns contrasting his dark fur. In truth, he was pretty damn ugly.

She had no idea why she tackled him either. Perhaps out of fear for her life? No, she would've ran then, or had Pix toss up a shield. Maybe fear for her life, with a mix of some extrovert instinct? At any rate, she was in the deep already, and she would not be letting go if it meant being blasted. She's seen Veigar's magic, and she's pretty sure it hurts. He stopped struggling after a while though. With the chaos of the moment gone, her mind focused on other things. Like how his face was so black, you couldn't even make out his lips or nose. Or how her fingertips ran across several deep rends in his flesh. Or how in this proximity, she could smell all the dark magic on him, a fragrance coming out of his body like a man's own musk. (Smelling magic was another "unique" talent of hers. People tended called her unique a lot."

"How'd you get like this?" She asked him, a little shaky, because this was in no way one of the cheery subjects that she was used to.

He sighed and told her, for reasons he could not understood. Swept up in the moment, perhaps? His story went on, and her embrace became tighter and tighter.

She went into his room a lot after that, the door was always left unlocked for her. They talked more, and she always hugged him. As weeks after, he stopped insulting her in private, and months after that, in public either. Also around that same time, they formed a ritual of having him lay his head on her lap, while she hummed some sort of song from the Glade. She tried healing those scars once, but to no avail. Whatever the wardens did to him, they did a good job.

Were Veigar less selfish, he would've asked her about her past a long time ago, to at least return the favor, but the thought never came to mind. He did eventually, but it took some time.

"I see." was the only way he responded. So she was a bit like him, then. He let her call them friends after that. A privilege he gave to no one else. When they weren't in his room, he followed her on her adventures. He'd never admit to enjoying them though.

One day she kissed him. Just like that, out of the blue. Maybe somewhere in their heads, they knew it was coming, what they were turning into, but it wasn't unwelcome. She had stopped humming, just for a second, and he peeked open an eye to look for the disturbance of their peace. And then she just did it. In the very simplest way. It was only a peck, since it was something new for both of them, for obvious reasons. But at the same time, it felt so natural, that neither made an issue of it. So they kept doing it from then on out.

He waits for her after her games now. She had always waited after his to bug him (Though it hardly bothers him now) but this was a new habit he picked up. Even if he did feigned impatience.

For once in his life, he imagined having all of Valoran on his knees, but he imagined sharing it with someone else. And for once in her's, she found that place of belonging. With another mage, as "crazy" as her, and with a past just as broken.

A/N: This made absolutely no sense. I just wanted to put more VeLu since there isn't much of that on this site. But the thing is, I really can't right these two. I try to keep a realistic bitterness in characters, but these guys are too extreme for me.  
>One is an extremely power hungry mage, and the other is an extremely eccentric pixie girl. But I also kept trying to keep it in character, and all that resulted was one big mess. So my apologies for that.<p> 


	2. Telling Her

Veigar stopped putting up a fight eventually. His struggling arms simply slacked to his side. Time passed by in slow drags, and the tension in the air was suffocating. Yet, Lulu still didn't feel completely safe letting go yet. But as the long minutes passed, she had plenty of time to notice some things.

Things like how his fur was so black, unlike any other Yordle she'd ever known. How the bristles let off sparks of dark magic. How he reaked of it, was drenched in it, radiated it. How his eyes glowed, like some sort of night predator on the prowl. But the most shocking and attention grabbing thing, was the texture of scars on her fingertips. Deep rends and grooves in skin that shouldn't exist on a person. Worse yet was that she could feel them, and not see them, letting her imagination run wild. Her mind pictured sickly red gashes, all grotesque against her fingers. It upset her, made her want to cry just knowing that such things existed.

"So how'd ya get like this?" She asked, with a shaky voice, trying (failing) to keep the mood light. And in response, the Master of Evil wondered whether or not to answer honestly, and she wondered if he would at all. He always seemed dodgy about his past. After a long pause, she received her answer in a deep breath from him, followed by a sigh, and from that, she also knew she was going to hear a long story.

He didn't know why he decided to tell her. Why this time was different from the other times she asked (Aside from him being naked.) Maybe it was the hug. Maybe it was how out of place it was (but innately natural). Maybe it was the fact that for once in a long time, someone was touching him. Maybe she caught him on a weak day. Maybe he always wanted to tell someone, and today was the last straw. Either way, he took a deep breath, and started:

"A long time ago, I was normal. I had friends, family, an education, a good head on my shoulders, and I-" He swallowed. Opening up was hard. "I had always wanted to see the world. So I studied hard, and at the first opportunity to travel, I took it. So I took up the life of a merchant. It was nice, for a while. Until-" He paused then. Perhaps having second thoughts and wanting to turn back, or trying to find the right words, or something else entirely.

Lulu took this opportunity to glance at Pix, who was examining the various books on Veigar's desk. She tried to focus a glare to convey a message. Something like "Pix, knock it off! This is a serious moment!" Whether it got across or not is still undecided, but he reacted by sitting on the opening book, crossing his arms, and letting out a small "Huff!" in disagreement.

"Until I started a little trade in Noxus." She snapped her attention back at him. "There was this guy, tall, shady, I should've seen it coming. He didn't tell me what was in the bag, and he told me the deal was off if I looked. All I had to do, was to get it from him in point A, to person B in point B. Simple enough, and the money was tempting, so I did it, since I was down on my luck at the time. But I shouldn't have, I really shouldn't have. Because the guy at the end of the deal was an undercover cop, and he grabbed by hand, called me scoundrel and locked me up in jail. I tried to tell him, over and over, that I was a simple merchant, but he was having none of it."

He swallowed a marble in his throat then. His eyes shut fiercely, and his body grew tense and started to shake. She tightened her arms around his torso. After a while, the shaking stopped, and he continued

"That's when the torture began. They wrapped my limbs in chains, and moved me in the very back where there wasn't even a soul. No one could hear me scream, but even worse was that I could hear no one else scream. Meaning I was completely alone. I found companionship in the rats that scurried into my cell, but when they caught wind of that, they actually started trying to exterminate them. Torturers came in periodically, and at one point, I was desperate enough to try and befriend one of them. I was breaking." His voice became unsteady on the last sentence.

"And they came in with hot daggers, fresh from the furnace. Steel hammers to smash my fingers. Whips, and chains, and drowning, and burning fires an-"

"Please stop." Lulu whimpered. By this point, she actually did soak his chest in tears, and had he not been interrupted, he never would have realized his voice picking up in a crazed tempo. He stopped then, took a breath, cleared his throat, and tried to compose himself.

"So I got out. One of them dropped their knives, and was laughing too much to notice it gone. So I kept it, hid it and the next time they came in, I slit his throat. And the next one, and the next one, and they were all still in shock by the time I was done. There was so much blood. And I was enjoying it, the freedom. My bones were in agony, but I still ran. I ran like hell, as fast as I could, and when I finally made it into the sunlight, it blinded me. Eventually, I couldn't run anymore. My dreams of travelling the world were crushed because those bastards." He broke the embrace. "Did something to my leg." He limped the room around her in demonstration. "I said ran like hell, but I really meant limp. It's all I can do now." He said it so angrily, angry at a broken dream.

"It's why I hop. I can't run, but I can't show weakness either." She nodded, and he continued. "I crawled my way up perilous peaks, and clawed down hidden tunnels to find the darkest masters of all. They taught me their secrets, but I had to show I had the aptitude, so that they would even glance at me. But in the end, it was worth it. And I will. Make. Valoran. Kneel before me." Veigar had, to the dismay of others, yelled about his plans of world domination before. But because of his squeaky tone, no one took him seriously. If they could hear him now, voice rich with slow malice and black hate, they would not doubt him at all.

"No matter who they are, they will be the same. Under one rule, there will be no more war and conflict. This world is a mess, they need someone to rule it with an iron fist. Someone to bring order."

He looked to her then, studied her face, and saw nothing but eyes wide with fear. Probably when he described killing his torturers. So even she was afraid of him. Well that was fitting, wasn't it? And yet her next action surprised him. She took a small tentative step forward, and then another, until finally she reached him and placed a hand softly onto his face. She wrapped both arms around his neck then and pulled him close, sobbing all the way. After a while, she made a move towards his bed, and lead him to it by the hand. She laid his head gingerly on her lap, and stroked the fur atop his head, his feline ears, anything comforting.

Veigar simply lay there, unable to comprehend what one was supposed to do in this situation. So he stared at his deep blue ceiling. But as the time went on, he started to register her gentle touches more and more, and thinking about his story, playing it over in his mind made tears build up in his eyes from the combination of the two. Through bitter tears he asked, "Why are you still here?" to which she replied "Because you need it, and no one should have to go through what you did." Boy, that shut him up. For once, Veigar had shut stopped talking. Silenced by compassion, who would've thought?

She was scared for him, she truly was. She'd always realize, but never to this extent, that under all those harsh words was a simple man. And like any man, he needed companionship in this world, naturally even more so because he was still a Yordle. But she was also scared for a different reason. Veigar had an absurd amount of Dark Magic in him. His masters may have lived to be old and senile, but they all had separate arts. Veigar had taken all those arts, powerful magics, and put them all into one and stored them all into his tiny body. No one could be able to handle that much power, not without destroying their mind and body as Xerath had. And yet he did. So how long did he have to live? Ten years, twenty? She was afraid to find out.

A/N: I'm a lot more satisfied with this chapter than the first one. I cant do much with their canon characters, so admittedly, yes, they're pretty out of character. But I think it works out better this way. Expect this same sort of tone for the next chapter (About Lulu), and for a lot of chapters in the future. For the moment, I want to flesh out the first chapter, and then I'll advance the story some, for until then, here you go, this is what I can do when I'm not tired as all hell, and with less restricting character personalities. I think it worked out better.

So I'd like to thank anyone who Followed/Favorited/Reviewed, etc, but also Vitalus and chquine-harvinellisse. At the moment, there are only 11 VeLu fics (A mere 7 when I posted the first chapter.) Things are growing guys, so I'd like you all to upload some VeLu's yourselves, really, that would make me pretty happy.

No, I haven't forgotten Punching Through Life, the next chapter is complete, but undergoing review.


	3. Telling Him

Veigar's room used to be a mess, when you actually could see it. For the most part, the room was barely lit if any at all. But when it was, it was like chaos. He had indigo drapes forever sealing a window (With an artificial view of the night sky), and a grand matching bed. But those little touches were often over looked when one could see torn pages and beaten books that littered the floor. Off to the side, lied a long since shattered mirror, leaning on the wall. He also had a little study desk, where a reading light flickered on when he would use it. It was lone flame, hovering over the desk, just barely illuminating the words. It held a dim glow. A lamp would have sufficed, but there was no aesthetic in that. On the desk (a wooden, cracked one), were several thick tones, open and overlapping each other. Glyphs and symbols were scattered about the pages, but no one save him and few other specialists could make a thing out of them. Most likely for good reason too.

But the room has undergone some changes in the past few weeks. The books have been picked off the ground, but the thick tomes on the desk still lay open. Still tempting the world with their dark, forbidden magics. Though, as of late, dust had periodically begun to gather on the old pages. The mirror was still there, but the dangerous shards had been swept away. All that remained was a lonely, goldish frame, that served as a reminder of one thing or another. The room had it's lights on more often than it did before, but the biggest change was how the denizens of the room changed from one Yordle to two, plus a Fairy.

She had been sleeping over there a lot now lately. More so than in her own room, which was purple, and lavender, and violet, and brushing with (artificial) life, and blooming forests of Hugify-Flowers and Whimsy Grass. The two had formed an odd sort of ritual. Somehow or another, Veigar always ended up with his head in her lap, with her fingers nuzzling along his fur and ears. For the most part, the room wasn't lit, as Veigar never felt the need to see it, and his enchanted (cursed) eyes granted him vision. Those same eyes made her uneasy, how they pierced through darkness. So sometimes, she convinced him to brighten the place up a bit, to lessen the glow.

They didn't do anything much, but talk idly, whilst the unseen fairy tugged at one of the two every so often. Today, conversation had lead Veigar to murmer a "Thank you." She would laugh and ask "What for?", and he would vaguely hint at the night that brought them together, when he bared himself to her. She got the hint, and then with a chipper expression would say "Of course!", and resume with the ritual they built together over the past few weeks.

"You helped me. So what's _your_ problem?" It sounded more menacing than it should have, but then again, so did everything he said. When speaking in the solitude of each other, Veigar's voice didn't squeak nearly as much. That was probably a side effect when he screamed (But who would listen to him if he didn't? (She would.)). That being said, it was still a laughably high pitch, a high tenor most likely, but that couldn't be helped, given his race. Still, despite the tone, she understood the sincerity behind it. It seemed dissecting how Veigar said things, and what he actually meant became second nature to it.

The words were also very blunt. Definitely not how one should ask someone that. Ever. But she forgave him for it. It's to be expected from one who lived the darkness for so long. Besides, great communication skills didn't come naturally to everyone. She should know.

"What?" She answered. She blinked, forgave him or not, the bluntness of the question still confused her.

"The League." He replied curtly, putting on an act of impatience. "Why did you join the League?"

And this brought back a string of memories and implications she would much rather forget. No one liked to talk about their past or problems. Even the cheerful. So even Lulu would curtly reply

"No one really accepted me there. So me and Pix came here to find some friends!". She finished it off with a smile, that faltered slightly when she realized she only made one in the whole time she's been here. Veigar pressed on

"Did you not have a family?"

"They died." The two words cut through the air like a guillotine, effectively executing any joy of the moment. He simply stared back at her, the stare being intensified by how dark the room was. She could just make out how his thin lips shut into a thinner line. He was shocked, confused, and also worried that he had upset his only ally in this hope-forsaken world. His stomach dropped into the abyss, why did he have to destroy things the one time he attempted to be sincere?

"I" he whispered, then paused, trying to remember, to feel the foreign word that would leave his mouth next "I apologize." And then Lulu laughed. Startling him even more. "It's fine!" She reassured, "They've been gone for a long time now. In fact I can't even remember them."

Honestly, she almost completely forgot how her family looked. They were probably simple, a mother, and father. A _normal_ famly. She imagined their laughter echoing in her memories, but it was only what she thought they sounded like. It scared her to lose a memory so precious. They're faces had long since vanished from the cache of her thoughts, and now when she tries, she can only see blurred figures. So obtainable, on the reach of her finger tips, but too far to grasp. What were they like? Were they ashamed of her? Did they hate her as the rest of the city had? Oh well, it didn't matter. Lulu could smile and keep on keeping on. Lying was easy.

But how the hell could she say something like that so flippantly? Even Veigar remembered his life before all of this, before the tortures of a certain black cell. And yet here she was, saying her parents were dead, and just shrugging it off like it were nothing. She was laughing. She was- No. Wait.

And then he placed his gauntlet clad hand on her cheek. The cold metal made her skin jump. She ceased her laughter upon the contact. There was no fooling a suffered being on the topic of suffering, not for long at least. He looked at her with a hard gaze.

"Don't lie to me." She met his gaze, at first at lost, then realization, and then feigning ignorance. His glowing glare eventually won out. It started out with sniffles, and snowballed into full on bawling in no time. Somewhere along the way, Pix sensed his dear friend's distress and leaned into Lulu's cheek, both arms spread out. She grasped both friends to her cheeks. Oh, how she was thankful to have them both. The sobs continued on forever in the darkness, but eventually she brought her fingers down, and probed her way to find his nose, and using it has a landmark, she found his mouth. She brought her own down then, meeting his lips in a peck, and then a longer, deeper kiss. He did not resist. The very opposite in fact, as he returned it with vigor. Both closed their eyes, bringing their broken souls together, letting the pieces hold each other one together, providing stability.

During the exchange, she felt dark magic tethering between them. Linking their minds, attempting to overshadow her's. Mists of shadow teetered at the edge of her third eye, trying to close it, to blind it, to turn it inside out. Would he corrupt her? No, because after a while, she felt the darkness recede, he was holding it back for her, and at the same time, her purity was pushing it out.

There are plenty of words to describe their first kiss.

Sloppy. Wet. Unpleasant. Blubbering. Tearful. **Ugly**. Damp. **Dangerous. Corrupting. **Perfect (enough).

A/N: Well that's that, and yes, I know this doesn't fit with the continuity from the first chapter, but I really didn't like the first chapter. And like I said, this is a flesh out, a reboot of sorts. Hope you enjoyed my attempts at giving Lulu some depth now, and for their next adventure, these two are going into the Glade. Yay. Also, apologies for the shorter than usual chapter.

I'd like to thank all of you enjoyed this in any way, especially the other VeiLu writers who seemed to have formed some kind Shipping Circle. I'd call that a good step, considering how little fics this couple has (Lots of cool fan art though). You know we have a Veigar/Lulu community now? Yep, you can thank Vitalus for setting that up. Now you know what would be really awesome? If more people wrote some VeiLu that could go on the community, or just wrote some fics in general. I'd love to read'em all.

So what do you all think of the direction this story is taking? The direction I'm going for more slice of lifey, a kind kind of dark. For example, not all kisses are beautiful, and not all romance protagonists are pretty. Torture is bound to ruin someone's face, but if you love someone enough then you just kind of...


	4. Parallels: One Possible Future

She probably could have stopped him, convinced him otherwise. Make him change his ways. Brighten his ideals. Something, anything, but she just stood by and let it happen. Maybe she believed he never could have done it, or maybe she didn't feel it right to argue with his ideals. Either way, it was too late now. She closed her eyes and remembered how it happened.

He called her to meet him outside the Institute of War. She and Pix did so, without question, thinking it would be something fun. In all honesty, she should've saw it coming, with how cold he had been acting lately. When they arrived, they found him, standing as straight and as tall as he could, except for his head which hung low. When she got close enough, she could see his expression was grim.

"I've done it" He croaked out. "I finally have the means to conquer Valoran." He raised his eyes to meet her's then, but even so, it seemed like she wasn't even there. There was something vacant in his stare, despite the soft, tired smile on his face. Could he even really see her?

"Veigar..." She sighed, scared of him, scared of what he might do. Pix was too, because he dashed between them and protectively spread his arms.

"What are you going to do?" He ignored her.

"You should get out of here." He said. The smile faded a bit, his voice more serious. Looking back, this was her last chance to stop him. So why didn't she? Instead she went along with it, with her friend, even with what he was going to do.

"No, I'll stay with you." He chuckled then. And with the sincerest smile he could muster

"Thank you."

He dropped a grimoire on the floor. It was a large book, about the size of her torso, how had she not noticed it until now? He knelt down to flip through pages, and seemingly finding the right one, he stood up again, giving a wince. His bad leg was probably bothering him again. He held his staff in the air, waved it around, and the odd symbols in the text began to glow an ominous blue. There was something wrong with those symbols, she didn't like them.

"Now, stand next to me" And no sooner than when she did, did the world shake around her. Cracks formed in the ground around the three, and then thick walls shot out of the dirt, enveloping all of them. Pitch black walls, a floor formed underneath their feet, and shot them up too. She shut her eyes, everything was spinning around them so fast. When she opened them again, she found them all on top of a black spire.

She began to notice the breeze, which was wrestling against her petite body this high up. Veigar seemed unbothered though. Still, a tower? Was that all?

"Hold on, here comes the next part." He said. He raised his staff in the air once gain, and waved it around above him. Lulu looked up, and could see the sky making black swirls, following the tip of his staff around and around. Suddenly he stopped, and brought the staff down, smashing it against the floor in a dramatic motion. The sky followed suit, the blackness matching his movement and spreading out to devour all the innocent blue and white clouds around it. How far did it go? Did it cover the whole world?

"This sky will be my eyes and ears. I have full global presence. None can stop me now, not when I can see them coming." Bolts stuck out, hitting the largest city states, rendering them ruins within hours.

"There will be no need for separate factions anymore."

"Come." He spoke, and she followed wordlessly. Under the roof was the top floor, which had a luscious red carpet, and long spikes jutting out of the ground. Impractical, though it did set the mood. He lead her into a room, big and circular, with two thrones in the middle. These are for us, your bedroom is this way.

Months had passed since then, and if there was any credit in word of mouth, it seemed that there really hadn't been any conflict in a while. Things had quieted down for the moment. There was a certain change in Veigar though, his fur had grown out wild, his arms and height grew just a little longer, his eyes became narrower. He looked like a beast in wizard's robes. He also seemed to wear a perpetual scowl, and it seemed as though he couldn't help it. That was, until he saw her each morning, then it would change into the slightest of grins. These physical changes scared her at first, but after a while, she saw it was the same old Veigar.  
>Whatever side effect it was brightened the glow of his eyes, and gave him fangs. She felt them poking her when they kissed.<p>

About 5 years later, Pix passed away. Fairy life spans must not be that long. They left the tower for the first time since then, to bury him in the Glade. Veigar came too, Pix was his friend also. They set a little flower upon his grave, a tulip. The other Fae looked at Veigar with disgust, and her too by extension. She heard the whispers

"Why did she bring _him_ here?"  
>"I thought she was one of us."<br>"How could she?"

But she ignored it. She had to. When the last of the tears dropped, they had left quickly. For a while, she didn't wish to speak to him. She had blamed him for Pix's death, just a little, even when it made no sense. Someone at to be at fault. But she was a Yordle, and she couldn't afford to be alone for too long, so after weeks of the cold shoulder, she went into his room one night, and he understood her coming there. Wordlessly, he beckoned her over and whispered comforting nothings.

"I'm sorry." he said.  
>"It's not your fault." She said back, and somewhat meant it.<p>

But time heals all wounds, and eventually, the two made the most out of their time together. Now more than ever, they were the only ones left for each other, yet there were always the hints of strain on their relationship. They still served dinner for three.

Move forward to about 6 or 7 years later, and here Lulu lies, lamenting in regret and wishing she had done something. Days like these were happening more and more often now. A lot of people had died...

A boom shook the castle, Lulu peaked her head out to see the commotion. The gates to their throne room had been thrown open, and several people barged through. Familiar faces, aged, and torn by suffering greeted her, or rather glared at Veigar who glared back.

From the ruins of Demacia, Garen and Lux, the dynamic duo, with hate and pretentious justice burning on their expressions. Vayne was also there too, but probably with an independent motive. Not to avenge her country and king, but to destroy evil. Two champions from Noxus stood side by side, the Blade from the Du Corteu family, and her Shadow. It was said that Cassiopeia was killed in the original demonstration of power, and Talon and Katarina mourned deeply. They were here for their sister, either biological and adoptive, and their need for vengeance surely drove their actions this far.

Two ninjas of the Kinkou presented themselves from the back of the crowd, a Yordle like herself, Kennen, and a woman who constantly faded in and out. The Fist of Shadow. Were they here to uphold the law of balance, or to avenge their master and friend? Who could say? Poppy, Teemo and Tristana from Bandle City headed to the vanguard. The flames of rivalry burned deeply, and for a second, they turned to glare at Lulu too, clearly ashamed. Jayce came from Piltover, alone, he was the only one to make it. At his side was Viktor of Zaun, his body changed into an even bigger metal monstrosity, and yet he had a friendly hand on Jayce's shoulder.

"So you all managed to move stealthily and killed all the guardians of this tower, then." None of them answered, they only tightened the grip on their weapons.

"Look at you, all working together. Where would you all be without me?" That set them off. They all jumped into action, scattering, surround him, poking him and running. Yet, whatever forbidden magic he had tapped into, had actually allowed them to hold them off. But not easily. Lulu needed to help, and yet she was rusty from combat. Not only that, but without Pix-  
>But she had to do <em>something<em>. She tried, she really did, shooting out one ball of Glitterance every so often to slow down anything it would hit. She could no longer shield herself, but she could turn the enemy into critters rendering them helpless for a time. These efforts did little but to annoy the enemy, and eventually a silver bolt flew out and nailed her in the shoulder. Her tiny weight flew with the bolt and it locked her into a wall. It was too deep to pull out, and she could not concentrate to cast anymore spells, so she could only watch as events unfolded.

Veigar's energy ran low, and the strive to survive did not match the loss of loved ones. It was Garen who dealt the final blow, summoning a mighty sword from the sky. Veigar fell, and with that Vayne turned her attention back to Lulu. The Night Hunter quirked an eyebrow in surprise. The silver bolt hurt, but did not burn, meaning...

"So you're not" The older woman paused, and then roughly pulled out the arrow.  
>"Then why did you stick by him all this time?" Lulu said nothing, she only walked to the lifeless body of her friend, picking it up, and left. But before she shut the door to the roof access, she managed to mutter out<p>

"You didn't know him." But would Lulu have done any different in there situation? At any rate, she warned them  
>"You'd best leave, this place will collapse soon."<p>

She did not bother to wait until they escaped, they were tough enough, they would probably be fine anyway. She picked up Veigar's staff, it was cold in her arms, and she waved it in the air the same way he did so many years ago, and the black sky swirled back to the violet of night. The breeze brought up awful memories. The tower rumbled underneath her, and she cast a spell on herself.

"Featheris." She whispered, voice cracking, as she, and the corpse in her arms gently floated off the top of the spire, and slowly descended into the woods below. Upon landing, she laid him down, only to have him cough and crack open an eye.

"Lulu?" He whimpered, pain clear in his voice. Her outline blurry to him.

"I'm here!" She said, panicked and shocked, immediately grasping the back of his neck as he lay on her lap. So many memories.

"Thanks for staying with me all this time. You know, I don't think I said this enough, but I love you. I really do." He was being modest. He had said it thousands of times in all the years they knew each other.

"I love you too!" She all but shouted, trying to command death at bay, three single droplets falling out of her eyes. His head rolled to the side, the ghost of a smile gracing his face, at least the real Veigar, her dear friend, showed in his final moments. But that wasn't enough for her. She moved in for one last kiss, but by the time she reached him, his lips were already cold. She laid him back down and crossed his arms over his chest, putting his prized staff in his hands. She got up, and walked away with purposeless, and with no destination. Peace was gone, but everyone's happiness had come back. Everyone's except her's, because both her friends were dead, and for the first time in a long time, Lulu was alone.

A/N: This had been in my head for a while, and I figured it would be way less boring than a Glade chapter. Spoiler for that (subject to change though), they go to the Glade, and sort of...nothing really happens. But I do hope you guys enjoyed this, although it does seem out of place. So Lulu could potentially save the world, indirectly, and all by convincing Veigar to change his ways. Interesting that, the power of individuals.


	5. Fluff and Fireworks

Two Yordles stood away from the crowd. A group of excited citizens had gathered in the town square of Bandle City. They chatted amongst themselves, laughed, and continued, for the most part, to be generally social. Friends, families, lovers, and yet two mysterious figures hanged on the very edge of the square, leaning on a wall. They were covered from head to toe, a giant hat hiding their faces, and long cloaks concealed everything else. Someone might have called them out for how suspicious they looked, had it not been a merry day (Not to mention their general jovial nature).

One of the figures stood still for the most part, like a stiff plank bolted into the ground. It, the taller figure, only turned occasionally to talk to the shorter one, who bounced happily, and questioned the former on everything. Unnoticed to everyone else, a large firefly zoomed in between and around them.

"Hey, Veigar, what's everyone waiting for?"

"Fireworks."

While he loved it about her, her joyful spirit was a bit off putting. It was a bit like old times.

"What are the fireworks for?"

He glanced at her then. "You don't know?"

Lulu shook her head.

"Oh that's right, you were still in the Glade when it happened." And after a moment he mumbled out a "Sorry."

She nodded and urged him to continue.

"Well" he began, "Once someone stole all the horse shoes from Bandle City's stables. No one knew who did it, but they start a fundraising to get the money back." A breath. "It was a hit, in fact, they ended up making more money than they needed. So they used the extra gold for a celebration. So that's what they're doing now."

"They're celebrating because they got a gold surplus a few years ago."

"Yes well, you know they'd find any reason to celebrate."

"Why did someone steal horse shoes? Who, even?"

"Well..." The taller figure appeared nervous, until a distraction appeared

"Look Lulu, the fireworks are starting!" He said as he pointed, and the girl followed his finger and gazed at the night sky. At first it was nothing but silent night, but then a single flare shot up. At the peak of its height it exploded into brilliant blue sparks. The sound made the girl shake, as the boom sounded like it popped out of her own chest. She and her pixie friend laughed at her own startled state, as the crowd ooh'd and ahh'd at the appetizer. The male looked at her and not the sparks, enjoying the sight of her joy.

When the blue specs faded from the sky, a silence ensued. It was a heavy silence, and crowd murmured confused whispers. Just as planned by the fireworks committee, as they then sent up two more rockets that exploded, surprising the confounded audience. They cheered again, laughing at being had. The girl took in the amazement of the sight before her. Pix flew up to her face, pretending to be a spark, and suddenly spread his arms out wide  
>"Boom!" he shouted, and the Fae Sorceress placed one hand to her mouth to hide her giggles. With her other hand, she reached for the male next to her, and grasped his hand. The metal was cold, but she held firm anyway.<p>

When the show finished, everyone dispersed to the man made carts strewn about. All kinds of sweets and toys were being sold, and children ran amok. Veigar stepped forward, and tugged lightly on her arm.

"Shall we?" He said. His pitch was too high to sound like a Casanova, but she played along anyway. A soft smile, and "Yes, lets."  
>He took her to stall after stall, the items being relatively cheap. They continued like this until a child bump into Veigar, knocking his hat off. Those who heard the thump glanced in the direction. Their eyes would first go to this child on the floor, who was being helped up by a cloaked figure, and then at the black, scarred face, who was picking up his hat. It was horrid, but like a train wreck, they could not look away. And then they started placing name to face.<p>

"It's Veigar!" Said person froze, mentally cursing himself for being discovered. During quick thinking, he grabbed the girl's hand, and bolted as fast as he could, which given his limp wasn't very fast at all.

"Whimsy!" Shouted Lulu, speeding up the three of them, gaining a bit of distance from their pursuers. However, they still had guns, though they had been lucky to not be hit so far. A cannon ball was going to fly straight at them though, and when all hope seemed lost, the artillery detonated before it reached them.

"I shielded you, now keep going!" The pixie frantically yelled. To make sure they lost them, Veigar commanded a dark meteor to fall from the sky. It crashed between the pursued and their pursuers, forcing them to back off to avoid the crater, and once the dust cleared, the three were gone.

The three rounded a corner as a patrol rushed by. They waited after it became silent, just for good measure, and once they were sure the coast was clear, Lulu spoke

"Now it's my turn to lead the tour. Pix?"

"Right!" He straightened his posture. "There's an entrance to the Glade right around...there!" And with a woop, he flew right in, and vanished into thin air. Veigar started to follow when he felt a strong grip on his sleeve.

"Hold it, I need to make sure we come out during the same time period we went in." She waved her staff over him, and then her self, she closed her eyes and whispered "Preservus. There, now it won't happen again."

He knew what she was talking about.

Stepping in the Glade made one feel tingly, like a flower rubbed all your innards. The place was colorful, with rainbow colored rocks, and paved roads of spectrum. The sky seemed to wave, it messed with his eyes. Veigar felt another tug, and looking, saw the big hopeful eyes of his lover.

"This way." She urged, and he followed grumbling (Though just for show).

She lead him to a clearing, where trees encircled them. Bright particles seemed to flow from one tree to the next, and as it passed between the branches, they changed colors. Not to mention that the leaves were purple. Lulu sat down in the grass, which seemed to dance below her. He sat down next to her, as Pix brought a cluster of leaves for them. The fairy and Fae Socereress munched on as he observed, and hesitantly, Veigar picked up one up himself, and placed it on his tongue.

The flavor was strong, so much that he almost passed out. The it was sweet, but "sweet" was too simple of a word. It swirled inside his mouth, and his head spun with it. Was this what purple tasted like? He didn't like it. He had a different idea of what purple tasted like, and he enjoyed that a lot better. At any rate, he needed to lie down for a bit. Seeing this, Lulu went to lie down next to him, and picking up a fistful of grass, she let it rain on top of them.

Her hand reached out once again to grasp his hand, but the cold bothered her. So she slid the gauntlet off (With minor protest from Veigar). His skin felt rough, but she held on anyway.

A/N: Just some fluff, as the title suggests. Sorry I've been inactive. Well, sorry to say this, but the next chapter will be the next one, so they'll be some good byes in the Author Notes then. As for this chapter, The Glade and the Fireworks were supposed to be different chapters, but, well I just decided to smush them together.


	6. The Night

The thought had been in his mind more than once. It was barely a whisper, a small white voice pleading that humanity was still good. That these people didn't need him to rule over them with an iron fist, that they were still good. But he diminished that voice every single time it came up. It was wrong. He knew that. These people are savage, cruel, and he needed to save them. So he easily ignored the voice mostly blaming it on some sort of Yordle racism.

But recently the voice had been getting stronger, and he knew exactly why. It wasn't exactly hard to pinpoint.

_Lulu_.

Ever since she had entered his life and reminded him of what love and care was, the idea had been growing little by little. It irritated him.

One event in his life had already shattered him, showed him that everything he knew was wrong, that life wasn't all sweets and fairies. It broke him, drove him a little mad, and robbed him of his dreams. It tore him up until he snapped, until he was even willing to destroy his physical body. Worse than the captivity was the wicked grin of his captors, and he remembered those hyena expressions as he crawled on broken bones to dark masters, and beg, on brittle limbs, for their tutelage.

And then, here it is again, another event telling him everything he knew was wrong.

Look at her, Veigar. She's so sweet. Do you really want to taint that? Do you really want to fill the world with dead and suffering?

_The world is already full of dead and suffering!_

But look at her. So ready to see the good in others. Why can't you be more like that?

_I was. Once upon a time._

She even saw the good in you. Look at you, you're already changing for the good. Why can't everybody else?

And it went on.

Was Veigar doomed to be wrong for the rest of his life?

"Mmnh" A slight groan interrupts his reverie. The sleeping figure next to him brings her knees closer to her chest. Her arms tighten around his hand, and her smile deepens just a bit. He brushed a cold finger against her cheek, for the sake of it. Veigar's eyes narrowed. She was just so ignorant to his turmoil right now. But then he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he spoke

"But it just can't be helped. After all, I never told her." He breathed into the empty room.

Lulu started to stir then, and he froze wondering if he was too loud. He relaxed when her body did, returning to peaceful sleep. He was a bit envious of that, since even with his beloved nearby, sleep was escaping him. With a frustrated sigh, the mage got up from the bed, and as quietly as he could, left the room. Though he could not avoid the way the door clicked when he closed it. Luckily, it didn't seem to wake her. Without a destination in mind, Veigar picked a direction and started to wander. After a moment of aimless shuffling, he ended up outside, where the garden was. Yet for a garden, it was surprisingly quiet, save for the wind. Not a single sign of crickets, no trace of life. The night breeze crept into his sleeves and collar, chilling him despite his fur. He clutched his robes tighter around him, and for whatever reason, decided to gaze at the stars above.

Up there, there were moons and milky ways. There were event horizons on the edges of black holes. Few can escape the wrath of a dying star. Perhaps another primordial burst was forming another universe out there? Perhaps it already had, and it would take light years for it to ever reach his eyes. Meanwhile comets and asteroids danced about in space. The night seemed so much more peaceful than Valoran. The sources of his power seemed beckoning tonight, perhaps something up there called him here?

He withdrew his eyes from the skies eventually. The sight was beautiful, until you tired of it. Waiting for him at eye level was a grand fountain (obnoxiously sized), and a row of perfect roses on either side of the walkway. Perhaps it was his current solitude, but he felt as if he had nothing better to do then to go examine the flora. He had walked by them several times to and from the Halls. So many times, in fact, that he deemed them not worth his time. Upon reaching the bed, he noted that they were in fact perfect. Disgustingly so. Every single bud had bloomed, and they were massive, perhaps averaging at about 5-10 lbs. Not a single blemished appeared on them, no sign of having been eaten by pests, and they were only the deepest shade of red.

With his hand, he drew one to his nose, closed his eyes and inhaled and…

Nothing. Fake. Scentless, though not completely so. There was just a hint of something familiar. Something he'd smelled all the time, something-

_Magic._

Deep red roses artificially grown by the arcane arts to make the League appear more elegant. The thought made Veigar scowl. There was nothing elegant here, it was nothing but fighting. The purposeless matches seemed like nothing more than games now. Mere games for the amusement of the audience worldwide, and for the summoners to gain rank and recognition. There was even a newsletter and paparazzi. Somehow he had become stuck in this worthless system. It made him sick. He didn't even gain any more influence from these matches, nothing to help him with his goal (Though he did find an irreplaceable friend).

And while the Hall of Heroes and Fields of Justice sat here looking pristine, people were dying out there. Demacians were probably executing a man for being tardy, Zaunites were probably twisting a poor orphan girl's organs, and in Noxus, a small yordle was probably being tortured in a jail cell (The last one flared his temper just a bit.) And he couldn't do a thing about it. If only things could be as peaceful as The Glade.

Yes, the Glade. If only the world could only follow that example. The fae there help each other. Work together. It had flowers blooming out of every corner (Albeit strange species). There was also little conflict there, and when there was, it wasn't resolved by a magical nuke. If only Runetarria could do such a thing.

_They won't, unless someone shows them._

"…Ah. I see." He mumbled lowly. On one hand, he was happy for his realization, though on the other, he was embarrassed it came so late, and that it was so simple.

"Veigar?" He jumped just slightly, before registering the voice.

A small yawn. "Where'd you go?" And then the sound of tiny footsteps which grew nearer and nearer.

"Just out for a walk. What're you doing up?"

"Looking for you." She said having reached him, and then she turned his body so that he could face her. Lulu smiled at the sight. "You look different." She noted out loud as she touched his cheek.

Veigar put on a matching smile. Indeed, his aura was much brighter than before.

"I figured something out, thanks to you." To emphasize his gratitude, he placed his lips on her forehead. "Now let's head back to sleep."

The next morning, Veigar woke up with more purpose than he had in a long time. The first thing he did was find Teemo, and with a hard clap on the shoulder stunned him with the words "Let's fight for a better tomorrow." Once the scout regained his bearings, he shot the mage a look of mistrust. Oh well, that would change soon enough. But Veigar would do more than fight, he would use his powers to vanquish the powers of the void where they came. He would aid Sarah Fortune in ridding the world of pirates. He would organize peace events between the city states. He would regrow life to the lands damaged by magic. He would cooperate with Ryze to soak up the radiations of the world, so that more life would flourish, and so Skarner's people may resurface.

And he would cease to treat his body so carelessly, like a time bomb. Instead he would do all in his power to preserve it, to ensure that he can stick around for a while, so that he can promise a long life of marriage for this girl next to him.

**A/N:** So that's that, it may not be the best ending, but it's something. And honestly, I had to end it. When I started, It was never meant to become something with more than 2 chapters, at most, and when it did, I realized halfway that I didn't have a plot. So I ran out of moments to write, and got stuck. The other ending I had planned was an epilogue where they grew up peacefully happily together, and then die peacefully of old age.

Looking back, there are a few regrets I had: For one thing, Lulu was too damn cutesy. She needed her own set of conflict and devotions, but in the end, she only ended up being a Doting Girlfriend, which bugged me a lot. Pix also was a very minor side character, and that just isn't right. He's important in Lulu's life, has known her way longer, and then some new guy comes along, and he gets shoved into the background? I'm not saying it should have been a love triangle, but friendships matter too. My apologies for that.

Thanks to everyone who kept along, despite it being a while since the last update. Anyway, I plan on wrapping up some other fanfics, and finish up some personal writing assignments, and then I have a big League fic planned. And this one won't even be romance centric! (Because, you know, there's more to life than just romance.)


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